St Mary’s Church in Hanley Castle, just outside Upton on Severn in the south of our diocese has become the first church in the Diocese to achieve a gold Eco Church award! They were recently assessed by a team from A Rocha who confirmed the award, encouraging them not to undersell all they were doing to care for God’s creation and to share their experiences with others.
The church has a small group of people who take the lead in this area but also have support from the whole congregation as well as Hanley Environment Group and the local pub, the Three Kings, which together with the church is at the heart of the village.
Churchwarden, Helen Owens, said: “We’ve worked through the Eco Church award levels because we’ve enjoyed doing it and felt it was important to who we are as a church. We’re delighted that we’ve achieved gold, but it is really just about honouring the commitments we make as Christians. Care for creation and speaking up for those who don’t have a voice is in the scriptures from Genesis onwards and that’s why it’s an important focus for us as a church.”
NSM Minister, Sue Adeney said: “Our eco work has been wonderful in helping to bring the church and community together. Our ‘Beer and Ethics’ talks each year often have an eco-theme which involves the local pub, and we give away Fairtrade chocolate at Christmas. The Friends of St Mary’s Church are involved in tidy up days and lots of people have been interested in the beehives in our churchyard.”
All age involvement
St Mary’s All Age service ‘Stir up Church’ also often focuses on care for creation, challenging congregation members to make a difference in their own lives. The young people present always get involved in the discussions, as well as in writing prayers, and often lead the way in this area.
Sam Vockins, age 12, has been a key part of the eco church journey with his Mum, Lindsey Cox. Sam said: “I really enjoy coming to church and getting involved. One of my jobs is to wind the church clock every Wednesday evening! I was interviewed at a recent all age service about achieving a green Blue Peter badge thanks to my work at St Mary. It is great knowing that I am doing something that makes a difference to the problems of climate change and plastic pollution.”
Lindsey said: “Focussing on care for creation is helping to engage a younger group of people who might not otherwise want to come to church. We sent out a questionnaire to all our families asking what they wanted to see in this area, and it was great to be able to collect their ideas.”
Being sustainable
St Mary’s Church uses electric heating and is on a green tariff. They have changed all their lightbulbs and are now exploring infrared heating which will be much more efficient than their current system, enabling them to zone the different spaces and only heating where they need to in Winter. All the flower arranging is sustainable, they do a range of different recycling for charities including ink cartridges, stamps and aluminium foil, have different nature trails around the churchyard (part of which is kept wild) and organise regular churchyard tidy days. They are also in the process of developing an outdoor worship space.
Helen said: “We have cleared an area of the churchyard as somewhere where we can have outdoor services and run activities for children and young people, but which will also be a space where people can sit quietly and reflect. A big tree stump has been transported there as a focal point/ altar and seats have been made from a lime tree that came down in the storm. We have also recently planted a hedge in a semi-circle around it.”
Beekeeper and member of the core eco team, Ross Workman, said: “It will be an inspirational worship space because it is out in nature. It is visible to those walking past to the high school or the pub and just by sitting there, you meet an incredible number of people considering we are a small village.”
Support for other parishes
The team would encourage other churches to get involved with Eco Church and are always willing to offer help and support.
Sue said: “The important thing is to get started. Find things that you can do rather than focussing on those that you can’t. It’s likely that most churches will be able to achieve bronze relatively easily and then it’s possible to build on that momentum. It’s also important to play to people’s strengths – having someone who is good at putting together all our policies and keeping them in one folder has been invaluable!”
Helen added: “I would encourage churches not to be afraid to ask for help – either from other churches or the diocesan team. The diocesan Church Buildings Team were a huge help to us, giving advice on heating options, but also being clear on what wasn’t possible in our church building and how to express that on the Eco Church form. We’ve also been supporting other churches in our team; for example Ripple Church took part in Churches Count on Nature for the first time this year and borrowed a few things from us. We’re now planning a celebration/ demonstration day following our gold award and we hope that other churches will come along to find ways of working together and sharing ideas.”
Congratulations
St Mary’s Church received a congratulations message on achieving their gold Eco Church award from the Bishop of Norwich who is the Church of England’s lead environmental bishop, and the children in their all-age service now want to write to HM the King!
Bishop Martin has also sent congratulations, saying: "I was delighted to hear that Hanley Castle had been awarded the Eco Church Gold Award. This first gold award in our diocese is testimony to the hard work, and creative dedication of Sue Adeney, Helen Owens, and all those in wider ministry team, the congregation and community who have been behind this initiative every step of the way. I know the conditions set to receive one from A Rocha are stringent and demanding. Congratulations!"
Helen said: “Caring for God’s creation is embedded into everything that we do in Hanley Castle. It’s hugely important to all of us and we won’t be forgetting about it just because we’ve achieved the gold award. We plan to keep learning and moving forward as well as spreading the message and helping others to engage.”
St Mary’s Eco Team includes Sue Adeney, Helen Owens, Sue Roberts, Lindsey Cox, Sam Vockins, Ross Workman and Nicholas and Harry Lechmere
